MR #25.41 Changes to Crisis Assistance Needs for Housing and Domestic Violence

Illinios Department of Human Services logo

11/18/2025

Summary

This Manual Release provides updates to TANF Crisis Assistance.

Effective 07/01/2025, due to passage of Illinois Public Act 104-0002:
- Individuals who are eligible for or receiving TANF who have become homeless or in threat of becoming homeless, due to a crisis other than non-payment of rent are eligible for Crisis Assistance of $1,250 per month for up to 4 months.
- Individuals who are eligible for or receiving TANF who are victims of domestic or sexual violence are eligible for Crisis Assistance of $1,250.00 per month for up to 4 months.
- Crisis Assistance funds for moving expenses, short term rental or security deposits is no longer itemized.
All other Crisis Assistance needs and amounts will remain unchanged.

Beginning 07/01/2025, when an individual is:

Determined eligible for or receiving TANF benefits and is homelessness or the threat of homeless is discovered, or
Is TANF eligible and qualifies for a good cause waiver due to domestic or sexual violence.

Staff must inform the individual of the availability of Crisis Assistance and provide the IL444-2689 - Request for Crisis Assistance.

Crisis Events

Crisis Assistance may be available to individuals who are determined eligible for or receiving TANF benefits and one of the following conditions exists:

Rendered homeless or threatened with homelessness by:
- fire, flood, other natural disaster;
- eviction or court order to vacate the premises for reasons other than nonpayment of rent; or
- leaving their residence due to domestic or sexual violence.
Household is deprived of income as a result of domestic or sexual violence, the victim is not required to leave or separate from the abuser;
Household is deprived of essential items of furniture or clothing by fire or flood or other natural disaster;
Household is deprived of food as a result of actions other than loss or theft of cash and the loss cannot be promptly alleviated through SNAP;
Household is deprived of food or essential clothing or deprived of shelter or immediately threatened with deprivation of shelter as a result of a documented theft or loss of cash and as evidenced by a court order requiring immediate eviction, which may be due to nonpayment of rent.
- Individuals determined eligible for a crisis event due to lost or stolen cash are not eligible to receive the $1250 payments, only the amount up to the lost or stolen cash which cannot exceed the TANF Payment Level for the household size.

Eligibility and Payments

Individuals determined eligible for or receiving TANF and are victims of domestic violence or meet a crisis event listed above are eligible for Crisis Assistance as follows:

Individual is at risk of or has become homeless due to a crisis, other than non-payment of rent are eligible for $1,250 per month for up to 4 months.
Individual is determined eligible for the domestic violence waiver, the customer is eligible for $1,250 per month for up to 4 months.
Individual is not in need of rent, but in need of essential goods, the current policy will continue to be used to calculate the itemized amount of goods needed.
- A one-time payment is issued when crisis assistance is issued for crisis events other than homelessness or threat thereof, and domestic violence.
Individual has documented lost or stolen cash and may or may not have an eviction notice due to non-payment of rent, is eligible to receive the lost or stolen cash amount up to the TANF Payment Level.

Note: For an individual to receive all 4 months of the $1,250 payment, they must continue to meet all other financial and non-financial factors of eligibility for the TANF program.

IES

Until changes are implemented in IES, a monthly data fix will be utilized to issue the supplement to each household who qualifies for a crisis event due to domestic violence, homelessness or threat of homelessness that is not due to non payment of rent. The data fix will review the amount originally issued for shelter, then calculate to send the remaining amount to equal the $1,250 payment for the initial month.

The data fix will also run each of the following 3 months to first ensure the household remains eligible and then to issue each $1,250 payment until the end of the 4 month issuance.

FCRC Staff

Staff should continue to issue crisis assistance payments in the same manner for any individual determined eligible.

Client Notice

Client notice CN 25.06 / CN 25.06S will be systematically mailed to each customer approved for shelter due to domestic violence, homelessness or threat of homelessness due to non payment of rent, explaining the $1,000 supplement to the original $250 Shelter payment and to notify them that the payment of $1,250 will continue for up to 4 months, as long as they remain eligible for the TANF program.